Imperial Isuzu Truck Centre continues to set several benchmarks when it comes to sales and after-sales efficiency amongst Isuzu truck dealers around the country. This is the view shared by franchise executive, Le Roux Roux, and the Isando dealership sales manager, Ben Steenkamp.

Moving into this year, one of the key trends will be the inescapable price increases across all the brands represented in the truck and passenger car market. Steenkamp noted that the threat of price increases could translate into added business in the short term, as customers would rather buy earlier than later in an economic turndown. Heading into the second quarter of this year, Steenkamp said, "We can expect plenty of new orders, however, the sales graph will fall thereafter". While Roux sees changes in the truck market, he maintains that the "more affordable" brands like FAW and TATA will see an increase as customers become more price conscience. However, he says that certain corps of buyers will always look to purchase quality vehicles at higher prices, even in these tough times, as they see this as an investment-savvy decision.

Looking to purchase trends within the truck market, there is a continuing move towards the purchase of vehicles with automated-manual transmission (AMT). The company's AMT has already, arguably, revolutionised the way fleets are bought and sold, with both Roux and Steenkamp confirming that at least 75% of the trucks they sell are fitted with AMT transmissions. Roux added that AMT has not only proven itself from an uptime perspective, but also from a cost-saving perspective, as these Isuzu Trucks need less time for maintenance. "Downtime remains a critical factor in any business operation, especially in the logistics sector. This is why more transporters are turning to Isuzu Trucks for a solution that not only saves them time, but also money," Roux said.

Many of the medium-range trucks supplied to the Isuzu customers are fitted with the AMT – a class-leading development in technology for medium trucks with a gross vehicle mass (GVM) from 5.2 to 15.5 tonnes. On a smoother AMT model, the driver does not use a clutch pedal when pulling away, changing gears or stopping – he/she uses only the gearshift lever, accelerator pedal and brake pedal. This innovation saves operators thousands of rand each year. Based on a manual transmission, such advanced technologies as wet-type multiple-disc clutch and fluid coupling have been introduced to achieve an easy-drive system suitable for commercial vehicles at a low price. In addition, use of an electromagnetic solenoid valve-type gear shift unit enables both computer-controlled automatic transmission and manual transmission.

This feature allows the driver to drive the truck in the automated mode, or in the manual mode without having to operate the clutch, thus eliminating the risk of abuse. Over the course of a truck's life, especially in our high-traffic inner-city delivery applications, the clutch may need to be replaced between five to eight times (model dependent). This comes at a substantial cost, which with the AMT option then becomes a saving.

In terms of Imperial Truck Centre Isando and GM Isando's capabilities, they are able to service or repair up to 15 trucks and around 30-40 vehicles per day respectively, and boast a comprehensive parts department with almost R6m worth of spares available for its customers. "We also offer 24-hour roadside assistance for our truck customers," Roux added.

Their Bloemfontein dealership is equipped with 14 service bays, six of which are for army contracts and they can service on average about six trucks a day. Their workshop is open on Saturday's by prior arrangement for minor service and repairs. Their parts stock holding is over R1.5m for their customers, and they deliver parts to their fleets within the Bloemfontein area.

While there's no arguing that increasing competition in the marketplace will lead to a few clients trying new brands, both Roux and Steenkamp are confident that Isuzu Trucks' products will remain the most sort after trucks in South Africa.